8hr Shifts vs 12hr Shifts

[NewGradRN114]

The hospital I work at is thinking of switching from 8 hour shifts to 12 hour shifts. I personally prefer to work 8 hour shifts because:

1. There is less of a chance that I'll have to work days (I hate working days).

2. I only work part time and I feel like if we start working 12 hour shifts I'll get less hours since there are less nurses needed to cover each shift.

3. When I work overtime (16 hour shift) I get paid for 8 hours of overtime instead of 4 hours if I were to work 12 hour shifts.

4. The unit I work on is an extremely busy orthopedic floor and I am usually exhausted after working 8 hours.

5. I live about 35 minutes from the hospital I work at so my 8 hour work day usually turns into a 9 hour (or more) workday. If I were to work 12 hour shifts I would have just enough time to shower and sleep before going back to work.

I think if I was full time I would prefer 12 hour shifts so I could have more days off but since I am only part time, 8 hour shifts work just fine for me. Does anyone else prefer 8 hour shifts?

[Sour Lemon]

I prefer eight hour shifts, but I've never worked in a nursing job that offered them.

[loriangel14, RN]

I love my 12s. I'm at work less. With 8s I feel like I live there. I get more work because 12s are harder to cover

[myoglobin, ASN, BSN, MSN]

12 hour shifts are probably my favorite thing about nursing. Consider, that I only work THREE days per week! As emotionally and physically devastating as my job is at least I get FOUR days off per week. The advantage is only compounded by my one hour commute each way. Also, if you are someone going back to school like my self doing two or three clinical days per week (as is required over the final three semesters) it would be literally impossible with five eight hour shift. Sure, it would be less taxing to only have to work eight hours rather than 12, but not at the expense of an extra two days per week. I earn 80k per year right now, and to justify going to 8 hour shifts it would require at least an additional 30K per year (and I could do that right now, by working one extra shift per week). However, I understand that this paradigm doesn't hold for everyone. I am a night-shift person who's son is home-schooled. I would stay up to listen to late night talk radio/podcasts and play computer games or study for school at night even if I wasn't working. Also, I keep the night shift even on my days off. Also, I have no family or friends other than my significant other and son. Also, my significant other and I basically have zero "intimate relations" due mostly to our schedules being days verses nights. However, all of these things would be the same for me if I had to work eight hour shifts.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

Also keep in mind that 12 hour shifts means you work fewer hours per week than 8 hour shifts- 36 hours vs 40 hours. Over the course of the year, that's 208 hours, and if you're making $30/hr, that equals a pay cut of a little over 6K.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

I prefer 8 hour shifts (and currently work 5 per week). But I'm a single parent and need child care during the day. Before/after school programs aren't open late enough to make 12 hours shifts feasible. I'd like the extra days off per week, but the trade off of being home every evening is worth it to me. And 12 hour shifts are exhausting.

[theRPN2b]

There are part timers in my hospital that work only nights (we have 12 hour shifts at my hospital). So it could be possible that you can still work nights only (or mostly).

[Everline]

I prefer 12 hours shifts because I do not want to be at work five days a week. Three days is just fine, thank you. :-)

[caliotter3]

Prefer eight hour shifts because they allow for a second job, having a life, perhaps getting enough rest, and not having to deal with employers cheating me out of the state labor law mandated overtime pay.

[myoglobin, ASN, BSN, MSN]

With regard to two of the points above:

a. It usually ends up being more like 38 hours per week given that most people clock in 15 minutes before their shift and do not clock out until around 20 to 30 minutes after their shift. Thus, it is more like 37.5 hours per week. As for a second job unless my kid needs a kidney that can only be purchased for cash on the black market that's probably not happening. Consider, that my base rate is 32 per hour and with night shift differential I earn 40.00 add another $4.50 for weekends. If I were to work one extra shift (again my kids doesn't need a kidney so it's not something I have much experience with) my rate would be around $60.00 with overtime and differentials so why would I ever work a second job? Even though we homeschooled we both worked nights (same unit/same shift) for many years and found babysitters who would spend the night with our son until he was around 15 for about $60.00 per night cash (one even brought her dog which was awesome and the other has become a family friend in fact the closet thing we have to family since moving to Florida). Thus, it is all about your unique lifestyle as to whether or not eight or 12 hour shifts are better.

[Burks21]

I have only worked 12 hour shifts and prefer them. I'd rather work 3 nights a week rather than 5 nights.

You are right though, 12 hour shifts leave you enough time to get home, shower, sleep, wake up, eat, shower, and head back to work. That's the negative.

[DeeAngel]

I no longer work but I would never go back to 8s. I wanted to work my days in a row and be done with it so I worked every Sat. Sun. Mon. which gave me every Tues, Wed, Thurs and Fri. off every week. I don't know how you could work full time everywhere and get a better schedule than that. I worked every weekend in exchange for a set schedule. I would not work nights however, if I couldn't do it in a row like I did.